iOS

Apple is switching the default provider of its web searches from Siri, Search inside iOS (formerly called Spotlight) and Spotlight on the Mac. So, for instance, if Siri falls back to a web search on iOS when you ask it a question, you’re now going to get Google results instead of Bing. Updated below with a statement from Microsoft.
Consistency is Apple’s main motivation given… Read More

Netflix has updated its iOS application with HDR support for newer devices, including the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, as well as the forthcoming iPhone X. It also works on the iPad Pro 12.9 and 10.5 from 2017, if you happen to have one of those devices.
Netflix HDR streaming requires a premium subscription plan, as well as more recent hardware. Some of the newest Android phones have already offered… Read More

After months and months of beta, iOS 11 is finally here — and it’s a huge update. In particular, Apple has tucked away many little features that you won’t see right away.
If you want to impress all your friends with your mad iOS skills, here is a list of some of these features. I also wrote a short and sweet review of iOS 10 if you want to learn more about all the changes… Read More

After reading back the preview I wrote back in June, the dominant tone was that iOS 11 is so different that it takes a while to get used to it:
I’m not going to lie to you. It takes time to get used to those new gestures. I’m not there yet, and I often find myself thinking about what I’m supposed to do to pull up Spotlight, look at my Today widgets and find an app that I… Read More

Apple has just released the final version of iOS 11. This update is packed with new features for the iPad and new core frameworks for the iPhone. The update is currently rolling out and is available both over-the-air in the Settings app, and by plugging your device into iTunes for a wired update.
Many people try to download these major updates at the same time. Apple usually implements a… Read More

Before you hit the update button to grab iOS 11 it’s worth checking which apps you’ll be consigning to the digital dustbin of history. All old 32-bit apps are incompatible which means a lot of content is going to reach the end of the road here… Read More

Face ID is easily the most hot-button topic to come out of Apple’s iPhone event this week, notch be damned. As people have parsed just how serious Apple is about it, questions have rightly begun to be raised about its effectiveness, security and creation. To get some answers, I hopped on the phone with Apple’s SVP of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi. Read More

Offering to gate the smorgasbord of personal content that lives on a mobile device behind a face biometric inevitably raises lots of security questions, even as always on face-scanning tech being housed in a smartphone raises privacy concerns… Read More

Latest Crunch Report

At the unveiling of Apple’s new flagship smartphone yesterday, the iPhone X, CEO Tim Cook said it was something the company’s staff had been working on for a decade. The new interface looks fluid and intuitive. But it also — if you’ve been smartphone watching for long enough — engenders a distinct feeling of déjà vu… Read More

Apple has made a significant change to the latest version of iTunes for MacOS and Windows by removing the App Store. This serves two purposes. First, it means more traffic for the completely redesigned App Store, which debuts later this month with the launch of iOS 11. Second, it returns iTunes to its original function as an entertainment app. Read More

Apple is announcing several new iPhones today. But if you already have an iPhone or iPad, chances are you’ll also get something new. The company announced at its press conference that the new major version of Apple’s mobile operating system will be released on September 19. You’ll be able to download it for free. Read More

It’s the day before iPhone launch and Xiaomi is back at it again with the unveiling of the follow-up to last year’s highly-acclaimed and near-bezel-less Mi Mix smartphone.
The Mi Mix 2 keeps the previous design aesthetic — developed by a team led by designer Philippe Starck — but with a slightly smaller six-inch display and improved 18:9 screen resolution. The bezel… Read More

Apple is pushing the limits of its beta program as the company just released the tenth beta version of iOS 11. If you have a developer account and want to try out the next version of iOS, you can download the new beta version right now.
iOS 11 is the next major release of the operating system for the iPhone and iPad. Apple first unveiled iOS 11 at its WWDC event back in June 2017. Developers… Read More

Xiaomi’s newest flagship smartphone will launch the day before the next iPhone, but Chinese firm has offered another new arrival before that date — and it marks a departure from the usual. That’s because Xiaomi has unveiled its first device running Google’s Android One software, and it’s called the Mi A1.
The device was launched at a press event in India today… Read More

Xiaomi’s bezel-less Mi Mix smartphone grabbed a huge amount of attention when it launched last October. Now the Chinese phone maker is getting more opportunistic with the follow-up version, which it plans to unveil at an event in Beijing one day before Apple’s iPhone launch.
The timing is perfect for Xiaomi. Its last device was a smash and there’s huge expectations on the… Read More

Tinder has hit number 1 in the App Store’s top grossing category for the very first time.
Claiming top spot in the App Store likely has to do with the global launch of Tinder Gold, which lets users see who has liked them without swiping at all, among other premium features.
Tinder’s initial foray into monetization came in 2015 with the launch of Tinder Plus, which lets users… Read More

The future of conversational AI is not a league of anthropomorphic voice assistants that we address by name to handle our problems. We will not unlock our iPhones and ask for Alexa when we need to dim our lights. We will not ask Alexa through our Echo to ask Siri to play a song. Asking your personal assistant for what amounts to a warm intro to another assistant is absolute lunacy. Read More

The home button is headed to the trash bin, if a report by Bloomberg is to be believed. According to the report, Apple is ditching the button to make room for a larger screen in one version of the next iPhone. Instead of a home button, users will perform actions using on-screen gesture controls involving a sort of dock of icons.
If true this would be the biggest change in iPhone design since… Read More

There is a general misconception that Apple is strictly about consumer tools, but the fact is that the company has a big presence in the enterprise just by the sheer number of iPhones and iPads in the business world. It also has some high-profile partnerships with hefty enterprise vendors like IBM, SAP and Cisco. Today, Apple announced that it is building on those relationships with a brand… Read More